Nutrition basics (18)
- Sodium: Are you getting too much?
- Nutrition Facts: Reading the food label
- Dietary fiber: An essential part of a healthy diet
- see all in Nutrition basics
Healthy diets (7)
- DASH diet: Top 5 tips for dining out
- DASH diet: Top 5 tips for shopping and cooking
- Sample menus for the DASH eating plan
- see all in Healthy diets
Healthy cooking (15)
- Healthy eating: 10 ways to add pizazz
- Recipe makeovers: 5 ways to create healthy recipes
- Ingredient substitutions: Make the switch for healthier recipes
- see all in Healthy cooking
Healthy menus and shopping strategies (9)
- Holiday recipes: Healthy-eating ideas for your holiday parties
- Healthy savings: The art of frugal food shopping
- Thanksgiving recipes: Delicious options for healthy eating
- see all in Healthy menus and shopping strategies
Nutritional supplements (2)
- Dietary supplements: Nutrition in a pill?
- Herbal supplements: What to know before you buy
Mayo Clinic Health Manager
Get free personalized health guidance for you and your family.
Get Started
About our e-newsletters
- Free e-newsletters
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- We do not share your e-mail address
Housecall, our weekly general-interest e-newsletter, keeps you up to date on a wide variety of health topics with timely, reliable, practical information, recipes, blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts and more. Our biweekly topic-specific e-newsletters also include blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts, and other useful information that will help you manage your health.
Housecall Archives
Mayo Clinic Housecall
Stay up to date on the latest health information.
What you get
- Free weekly e-newsletter
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- Recipes, tools and other helpful information
- We do not share your e-mail address
Dietary fats: Know which types to choose
When choosing fats, pick unsaturated fat over saturated or trans fat. Here's how to know the difference.
By Mayo Clinic staffMost foods contain several different kinds of fats — including saturated, polyunsaturated, monounsaturated and trans fats — and some kinds are better for your health than others are.
You don't need to completely eliminate all fats from your meals. Instead, choose the healthier types of fats and enjoy them in moderation.
Healthy fats
When choosing fats, your best options are unsaturated fats: monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. These fats, if used in place of others, can lower your risk of heart disease by reducing the total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels in your blood.
One type of polyunsaturated fat, omega-3 fatty acids, may be especially beneficial to your heart. Omega-3s appear to decrease the risk of coronary artery disease. They may also protect against irregular heartbeats and help lower blood pressure levels.
Below are the best food sources of these healthy fats:
| Type of healthy fat | Food source |
|---|---|
| Monounsaturated fat | Olive oil, peanut oil, canola oil, avocados, nuts and seeds |
| Polyunsaturated fat | Vegetable oils (such as safflower, corn, sunflower, soy and cottonseed oils), nuts and seeds |
| Omega-3 fatty acids | Fatty, cold-water fish (such as salmon, mackerel and herring), flaxseeds, flax oil and walnuts |
Harmful fats
Saturated and trans fats (trans-fatty acids) are less healthy kinds of fats. They can increase your risk of heart disease by increasing your total and LDL ("bad") cholesterol. Dietary cholesterol isn't technically a fat, but it's found in food derived from animal sources. Intake of dietary cholesterol increases blood cholesterol levels, but not as much as saturated and trans fats do, and not to the same degree in all people.
Below are common food sources of harmful fats:
| Type of harmful fat | Food source |
|---|---|
| Saturated fat | Animal products (such as meat, poultry, seafood, eggs, dairy products, lard and butter), and coconut, palm and other tropical oils |
| Trans fat | Partially hydrogenated vegetable oils, commercial baked goods (such as crackers, cookies and cakes), fried foods (such as doughnuts and french fries), shortening and margarine |
| Dietary cholesterol | Animal products (such as meat, poultry, seafood, eggs, dairy products, lard and butter) |
(1 of 2)
- Dietary guidelines for Americans. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; U.S. Department of Agriculture. http://www.health.gov/dietaryguidelines/dga2005/document/. Accessed Nov. 25, 2008.
- Gillman MH, et al. Dietary fat. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Nov. 25, 2008.
- American Heart Association scientific position: Fat. American Heart Association. http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4582. Accessed Nov. 25, 2008.
- USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, Release 20. U.S. Department of Agriculture. http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/search/. Accessed Nov. 25, 2008.
- Van Horn L, et al. The evidence for dietary prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease. Journal of the American Dietetic Association. 2008;108:287.
- Zeratsky KA (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. Dec. 3, 2008.
